How the NHS was born here-and the lives touched by that momentous day

“THE collective principle asserts that... no society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means.”

- HELENA VESTY

On July 5, 1948, a man spoke those words as he visited Trafford General Hospital. Then Minister for Health, the man symbolically received the keys to the building from Lancashire County Council during a tour of the hospital, surrounded by a guard of honour of nurses, for one incredible reason. 

He had campaigned for years to create a health service for everyone, that was free at the point of delivery, and was based on the needs of those seeking help, not their ability to pay. On that day in 1948, that man was at Trafford General to mark the success of his campaign, and to herald a new beginning.

That man was Aneurin Bevan. And he was formally creating the one of the most important institutions in the history of our country. The NHS. Here, M.E.N. NHS, social care and patients reporter HELENA VESTY looks back at that day, and the effect it had on the lives of two women.

‘The most civilised step any country had taken’

Originally called Davyhulme Park Hospital, the hospital was established in 1926 by the Barton-uponIrwell Union, which had been set up to make sure there were provisions on offer for the poor.

The hospital officially opened in 1929, before becoming a military hospital during the Second World War. The first military patients arrived in 1940 following the German invasion of Norway, then later the hospital was transferred to the US military, becoming the 10th US Station Hospital.

After the war, it was returned to Lancashire County Council, and by 1948, the estate had been renamed as Trafford General Hospital. It then took on another historic role – announced as the first NHS hospital by Bevan.